"Here's another very brief (3 min.) movie from the stage conjurer Georges Méliès, not as elaborate as his famous TRIP TO THE MOON, but sweet and funny. THE MAGIC LANTERN features Punch and Pierrot, two painted Commedia Dell'arte clowns, cavorting in a child's bedroom with over-sized props. The clowns assemble an enormous magic lantern, place a candle inside and project moving images onto the wall. After viewing a selection of brief film clips the clowns collapse the sides of the lantern to reveal a surprising number of dancing girls inside; after all, if it's a Méliès film there must be dancing girls! A vigorous dance is performed, and one spectacularly athletic brunette dancer seizes the moment and steals the show. At that point, a fight breaks out between Punch and Pierrot over the girl's affections. The other girls flee, and the gendarmes arrive. I won't spoil the ending, but it's safe to say the cops quickly come to regret their attempt to intervene."--IMDb review by wmorrow59.

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